THE PLAYOFFS PATRIOTS VS. COLTS
]]>For Saturday Nights Playoff game vs the Colts, we will meet at 2:45 and leave by 3:00. People will arrive early for this game and I expect the lot to open early as well!
If you haven’t let me know you will be attending, please let me know as soon as possible!
The number of canopies we will erect will depend upon how many people we expect to show up. Last game we had 17 people and only set up two canopies. Watch the weather closely this week … last thing I heard was rain Saturday night. If there is snow on the ground, we plan on shoveling out a spot for our tailgate. As of right now there are only three riding the bus!
Caravan to Parking — Rt 95 S (Bear right at split with 93N) toward Providence. Take exit 9 (Route 1 south ). Immediately move to the right lane and look for the 1st restaurant on your right (Mick Morgan’s) DO NOT PARK THERE. Pull up to the light and take a right onto Old Post Road. Turn into the parking after the Liquor Store and before Brookline Movers. Back into angled parking spaces for ease of egress when we are leaving the lot. Be in the lot by 3:15. Caravan of cars will leave by 3:30.

Meeting at the Tailgate – Continue on Rt 1 S as you approach the stadium. Take right into the Rodman Ford Collision Center. Look for our setup near the Pedestrian Crosswalk. We will have the Red Razor’s Edge Tailgate banner, and the bus is unmistakeable. Call me if you need directions 978-866-3580.

Patriots vs. Steelers 11/3
]]>No rest for the weary …. Tailgate Home Game 5 has the Steelers visiting the Pats. The Squealers lost to Oakland this past week (oh the humanity) and they should be fired up to play our boys. This is a 4:20 game so we will be meeting North of the Stadium at 10:45 and leave by 11:00. The last 4:20 game I left a few minutes early and thank goodness we did. The queue to get in was long and we were at least #25 in line. Expect to get into the Rodman lot by 11:15. Remember parking is $50 at the Rodman lot

Caravan to Parking — Rt 95 S (Bear right at split with 93N) toward Providence. Take exit 9 (Route 1 south ). Immediately move to the right lane and look for the 1st restaurant on your right (Mick Morgan’s) DO NOT PARK TH…ERE. Pull up to the light and take a right onto Old Post Road. Turn into the parking after the Liquor Store and before Brookline Movers. Back into angled parking spaces for ease of egress when we are leaving the lot. Be in the lot by 10:45. Caravan of cars will leave by 11:00.

Meeting at the Tailgate – Exit Rt 95 S as above and continue on Rt 1 S as you approach the stadium (its about 3 miles). As Rt 1 splits and the south lane takes a dip (Northbound is elevated), stay right at the traffic light, look for Rodman Collision Center is on the right (look for our red Razor’s Edge Tailgate sign). Take a right into their parking lot and park as directed. You can join us on the grass or front row depending upon the weather. We will have one or more canopies together. Our setup is right at the 1st pedestrian crosswalk on Rt 1 S (see Patriots parking Map). Parking is $50.

Please let me know as soon as possible whether or not you will be in the caravan! My cell phone # is 978-866-3580 in case you get lost or need direction.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Phins)
]]>The Good
- If I told you we would lose 2 defensive captains, start 5 rookies and Brady would be an average QB at the beginning of the year, would you have guessed 6 and 2 for a record?
- We finally made some halftime adjustments that worked. We had been terrible in the 3rd quarter but we came out of the locker room a different team. The D was solid and the O had some sustained drives.
- Loved the way we managed the game at the end of the 3rd quarter with the wind. Knowing that it was a big factor, we smartly took a time out before the 3rd down play. We were then able to kick the 48 yarder with the wind. Going the other direction, Ghost doesn’t have the leg for it.
- Chris Jones was on the streets a few weeks ago. Now he is starting and playing every snap for a 6 and 2 team. 2nd week in a row he doesn’t come off the field. 7 tackles, 2 for a loss and a sack is a full day.
- I liked replacing the slow Hightower with the faster and smaller Fletcher in the dime package. He provides a lot more flexibility in coverage. He isn’t as good in the base packages but that is why we can substitute.
- After not playing in the first half, Logan Ryan had a couple of huge blitzes that really caused problems for Miami. After grabbing his junk while showboating last week, BB probably had him sit for the half.
- We finally decided to stop running the stretch play with Blount and ran him hard up the middle. Leave that outside stuff to Ridley who is faster and more decisive. I am also glad to see we switched up and ran Ridley, who had now really run hard in 2 straight games.
- Great smarts by McCourty to tip the ball back into play and great footwork for Cole to get both feet down and secure the INT.
- I am glad we were able to get pressure on the QB and force some turnovers because of it. 6 sacks is a great number
- Megatron goes off for 327 and 1 touchdown. Could have had 2 more but he was stopped on the 1 each time. This guy is a monster and came up just short of the record.
- We held Miami to 8 for 17 on 3rd down conversions. Less than 50% with our decimated D is pretty good.
- The turnover streak continues. We just need to do a better job holding on to the ball ourselves

The Bad
- Is there something wrong with Brady. He, once again, looked lost out there and made many bad decisions. I have never seen him act like this. He usually checks to a good play and more times than not, the play works. This year, the checks and reads aren’t right. He has also missed too many throws. At halftime, I mentioned it may be time to bench Brady for the rest of the game and see if we can figure this thing out. Is it the hand? The shoulder? Is he still pissed he lost his Welker binkie?
- I thought the refs were pretty bad. At least this time we were on the right side of it. The PI on the Gronk pass was not PI. Gronk was triple covered and everyone was going for the ball. The batting the ball looked like the right call at the time. The reviews made it look otherwise. Huge penalty. Instead of a sack, fumble, recovery making it 4th and 28, out of field goal range, we got a first down inside the 20.
- How many more injuries can we take before we fall apart. Losing Seabass could have a huge impact on our line. We will need to find a new backup.
- We were still only 2 for 10 on third down. This can’t continue if we want to win.
- We gave up another 3rd and insanely long conversion.

The Ugly
- I am really confused this year. We play Cincy and fight to the end. We play the Jets and lose in OT. The Jets play Cincy and get embarrassed. I can’t seem to predict anything this year.
- Pouncy was served with a court summons in a weapons charge against Hernandez after the game. Talk about adding insult to injury.
- In “I hate to see a grown man cry” news… you have to feel for Seabass. He really let out a yell that you knew something was very wrong.
- In “I hate to see a grown mad cry” news part 2… I feel bad for Kolten Wong. The rookie got overly anxious and wondered too far from the base and Koji made him pay.
- Anyone see the Dez Bryant tirade on the sidelines? Talk about a diva.

Patriots vs. Dolphins 10/27
]]>After the disappointing loss and that stupid penalty call, the Pats should be all fired up for their all-important division game versus the Miami Dolphins. This is a 1:00 games so we will meet at 8:00 North of the stadium and leave by 8:15. Remember parking is $50 at the Rodman lot.

Caravan to Parking — Rt 95 S (Bear right at split with 93N) toward Providence. Take exit 9 (Route 1 south ). Immediately move to the right lane and look for the 1st restaurant on your right (Mick Morgan’s) DO NOT PARK THERE. Pull up to the light and take a right onto Old Post Road. Turn into the parking after the Liquor Stor…e and before Brookline Movers. Back into angled parking spaces for ease of egress when we are leaving the lot. Be in the lot by 8:00. Caravan of cars will leave by 8:15.

Meeting at the Tailgate – Continue on Rt 1 S as you approach the stadium. As Rt 1 takes a dip, at the traffic light, look for Rodman Collision Center is on the right (look for our red Razor’s Edge Tailgate sign). Take a right into their parking lot and park as directed. You can join us on the grass. We will have four canopies together and the Razor’s Edge Express bus. Our setup is right at the 1st pedestrian crosswalk on Rt 1 S (see Patriots parking Map).
Please let me know as soon as possible whether or not you will be attending!
My Cell phone number is 978-866-3580 in the case you get lost or are going to be late.

Tailgate Home Game 3 pits the undefeated New Orleans Saints vs the Patriots. The Patriots will have to put forth their best effort this week to defeat the Saints. The crowd needs to be into the game too. I was appalled at how late the crowd was for the last home game. When the players came out of the tunnel the stadium wasn’t even half filled. It was disgusting. This is a 4:20 game so we will be meeting North of the Stadium at 11:00 and leave by 11:15. Expect to get into the Rodman lot by 11:30 or in the queue to get in. Remember parking is $50 at the Rodman lot

Caravan to Parking — Rt 95 S (Bear right at split with 93N) toward Providence. Take exit 9 (Route 1 south ). Immediately move to the right lane and look for the 1st restaurant on your right (Mick Morgan’s) DO NOT PARK THERE. Pull up to the light and take a right onto Old Post Road. Turn into the parking after the Liquor Store and before Brookline Movers. Back into angled parking spaces for ease of egress when we are leaving the lot. Be in the lot by 11:00. Caravan of cars will leave by 11:15.

Meeting at the Tailgate – Exit Rt 95 S as above and continue on Rt 1 S as you approach the stadium (its about 3 miles). As Rt 1 splits and the south lane takes a dip (Northbound is elevated), stay right at the traffic light, look for Rodman Collision Center is on the right (look for our red Razor’s Edge Tailgate sign). Take a right into their parking lot and park as directed. You can join us on the grass or front row depending upon the weather. We will have one or more canopies together. Our setup is right at the 1st pedestrian crosswalk on Rt 1 S (see Patriots parking Map). Parking is $50.

Please let me know as soon as possible whether or not you will be in the caravan! My cell phone # is 978-866-3580 in case you get lost or need direction.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Falcons)
]]>The Good
- Is there any reason we should not be trying to lock up Talib for the next couple of years. He is playing better than any corner since Ty Law. He is physical and competes on every play. He played great last night. 8 passes thrown at him, 1 completion for 1 yard and a pick.
- The D overall held Atlanta all night long. I only saw 1 bad play which was the poor coverage on the 1st Gonzalez TD. Other than that, we were in place to make numerous plays. The long pass to Jones on the final drive had perfect coverage. The 2nd TD to Gonzalez was tight coverage and challenged by the DB. Neither went our way but we were in position to make a play. That is a far cry from the last couple of years. Holding Atlanta to 6 of 14 on 3rd down was huge. 0 for 2 on 4th is equally as big.
- 7 for 13 on third down is a big improvement over the last couple of weeks. We seemed to be in more of a rhythm this week.
- Blount has some wheels. On the TD run, I thought for sure he would be chased down at the 20. Then I was positive it would have been at the 10. When he was finally hit at the 5, it was too late to bring the big man down.
- Connelly and Devlin had 2 great blocks to spring Blount for the TD. Nice blocking schemes all night. The OL opened holes for the run game and gave 12 plenty of time all night.
- Great game plan. By staying committed to the run early, it really opened up the play action later in the game. We really fooled the D on a couple of plays for us.
- Kenbrell had a drop or 2 but made a couple of huge catches for us. The TD was phenomenal but the 3rd and 20 something conversion was even better. He caught it and was able to avoid the huge hit. When he took the ball away from the defender early in the game, you could see Tom’s confidence rise.
- Edelman continues to shine without Amendola. I hope he continues once Danny and Gronk get back.
- Allen continues to boom the ball. I loved Zoltan but I have seen no drop-off.
- Ghost had another nice game. 2 long FGs and numerous kicks through the EZ.
- Glad to see U Maine alum Mulligan get the TD grab. 6 games in 5 years is not a great resume but catching a TD from #12 helps pad the stats.
- The 80 year old Gonzalez is a monster. The guy just plays football. He was virtually uncoverable all game until we hit him with 2 guys at the LOS on the last drive. He looks as good as ever. (this was a great in-game adjustment by Patricia).

The Bad
- How many think Sudfeld might be off this team? He has done nothing on offence and only played 8 snaps last night. He botched the onsides kick that would have iced the game for us.
- Vince is done for the season. This one hurts bad. He was the heart of the D and a dominant player on the line. He commanded a double team which freed up the LBs and the other linemen to make plays. He will be missed.
- I thought the refs were atrocious last night. There were 3 huge calls that were either ignored or went against us. How can there not be a call for interference with a fair catch when the defender clearly lowered his shoulder to hit Edelman in the head. How can there not be holding in the end zone on the play where Dobson got hurt (not complaining about the hit, just the lack of a clear hold on a key play). How can there be PI on Talib when White clearly pushed him out of the way? All 3 were awful. Also, Blount had the first down on the last drive. He clearly landed on the yellow line which was exactly on the yard marker yet the ball was spotted short of the yard marker. Another botched call.
- No replay? Really? How can a multi-billion dollar league not have replay available? I could have watched the replay at home on my DVR if I wanted to. The whole system needs to be reviewed and changed. Move the replay official back into the booth to make the calls. No challenges.
- Can we get rid of kickoffs? If I counted right, of the 13 kickoffs, only 1 was returned for 29 yards giving Atlanta the ball at the 24. What a waste of time.
- This is twice where Brady dropped the snap on a short yardage play. Looks like he is pulling out too quickly in an attempt to get the ball to the back.
- I thought Atlanta’s decision to go for it in the first quarter was not a strong football decision. Take the points against a team that is struggling to score.
- Ryan did not look all that good. I don’t get to watch him on a regular basis but I was not impressed.

The Ugly
- Pittsburgh’s OL is as bad as I have ever seen. They can’t keep Roethlesburger upright (and he holds the ball too long which doesn’t help).
- Jacksonville is as bad as advertised. In 4 games, they are averaging 7.7 points per game while giving up 32.2. They are on pace to give up a total of over 500 points while only scoring under 130. Yuck.
- The Giants have given up 146 points already. That will translate to 584 over a 16 game season. It’s fun to see them 0-4 already.
- Philly isn’t that far behind at 138 points allowed.
- My fantasy team sucks. When your QB scores half your points in a week, you are in trouble.
- Sanchez is making $13.5M this year for sitting on the bench. Eli is making $16.5 to throw 9 INTs. Roethlisberger is making $14.7 to stink.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Tampa)
]]>The Good
- It’s never bad to be 3 and 0.
- The youngin’s looked much better than they did last week. Dobson and Thompkins were both getting open with regularity. Clutch catches and 3rd down conversions were a welcome sight. Only 1 drop from what I saw.
- Edelman continues to impress. Can he stay healthy with this much playing time. I also don’t want it to affect his punt return ability. He is a stud there and we can’t afford to lose that field position.
- Nice to see Bolden get some chances. He looked really good out there.
- Blount ran strong against his old team. He sucked up most of the time on the final drive by himself.
- The OL looked better but not great. They still need some time to get on track.
- The D continues to impress. We didn’t miss many tackles and I only saw 1 or 2 real bad breakdowns in coverage.
- Talib is a really good player and was in position on almost every play. He was out jumped for one reception and just missed another. He is a good player for us. The pick created 3 points.
- After the Talib pick, we ran the offence to perfection. Knowing we were at a 57 yard field goal attempt with 6 seconds on the clock, we couldn’t run a real play. The Brady sneak bought us another 4 yards to make it a much more manageable try. Tampa was completely confused.
- Nice to see Chandler Jones continuing from last year. He looks strong and fast.
- Great to hear that the other 50 signed a 3 year extension to stay with us for a while. Not a bad scrap heap pickup.
- The fake double handoff to the screen was a brilliant design. Wonderful fakes and great blocking.
- Hooman’s effort to get the first down was outstanding. He’s not the most gifted athlete but he is a dependable player, especially in the H-back position as a blocker.
- 51 games with a TD pass for Brady. I’d like to see him get the record.

The Bad
- We need Washington to get healthy as I can’t take Blount to much more. We don’t need a plodder back there. We need someone with some speed. Could Bolden take over as he has some burst. He was back there but as the up back.
- TB missed a couple of wide open guys. He forced the ball to a double covered Sudfeld when both Edelman and Dobson were wide open deep after the play fake. Would have been an easy 7. He also missed a wide open Dobson in the end zone by throwing it ahead and to the ground. The pick in the end zone was terrible. Don’t know where he was going on that one. Not his greatest game by far.
- We certainly didn’t start the game out well on O. Three consecutive series with a punt.
- Why did we go for it on 4th and 6 with 4 minutes to go? Take the FG and get the extra points. Yes we were up 3 scores but you never know in this league.
- The league needs to get rid of kickoffs. They don’t serve any purpose when most go through the end zone. Place the ball at the 20 and call it good. My son’s suggestion was to make it a penalty to kick it out of the back of the end zone. That would work too.

The Ugly
- Forgot to mention this last week. If anyone was watching the FOX games but in the middle of the Washington game, the ticker got screwed up and started calling everyone Griffin. Payton Griffin, Ray Griffin, Arian Griffin. That lasted about a couple of minutes then they took the ticker down completely.
-
Dave Levine

Pats vs. Bucs 9/22
]]>We are back at it this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-2). The Patriots defense has carried them the 1st two weeks and I suspect they will have to again this week while the youngsters get their legs under them. We may have benefitted from the extra time off after the Thurs Night Game.
We learned from our first game in the Rodman lot that they open early. So we will adjust and gather at 8:00 at the regular meeting spot in front of Brookline Movers and across Old Post Road from Mick McGee’s (formerly Wicked) parking lot.
New for this year is an attempt to strategically place the tailgaters with canopies at the head of the line entering Rodman’s parking lot. Our goal was to get 5-6 spots together on the grassy area adjacent to Rte 1. We have been utilizing a Quad configuration that has also allowed for other members of our tailgating crew to set up just outside of the quad. So far it has worked out very well. We also try to be considerate to those groups that regularly setup to our right and left.
The Rodman Lot is $50 to park. This money goes to charity (not Bob Kraft). Other benefits are that you get in the express lane going North and when exiting the Rodman lot you can go either North or South on Rte 1.

For Sunday’s 1:00 game we will meet at 8:00 and leave by 8:15.
If you haven’t let me know you will be attending, please let me know as soon as possible!

Caravan to Parking — Rt 95 S (Bear right at split with 93N) toward Providence. Take exit 9 (Route 1 south ). Immediately move to the right lane and look for the 1st restaurant on your right (Mick Morgan’s) DO NOT PARK THERE. Pull up to the light and take a right onto Old Post Road. Turn into the parking after the Liquor Store and before Brookline Movers. Back into angled parking spaces for ease of egress when we are leaving the lot. Be in the lot by 8:00. Caravan of cars will leave by 8:15.

Meeting at the Tailgate – Continue on Rt 1 S as you approach the stadium. Take right into the Rodman Ford Collision Center. Look for our setup near the Pedestrian Crosswalk. We will have the Red Razor’s Edge Tailgate banner, and the Razor’s Edge Express Bus. Call me if you need directions 978-866-3580.

Don’t forget we are having a theme for this week’s tailgate. Its Jimmy Buffett / Margaritaville theme. I am bringing jerk chicken and margarita’s.

Home opener vs. Jets 9/12
]]>Welcome back to another exciting season of Patriots Football! We had quite the nailbiter against Buffalo but in the end we came out victorious.
We will again be using the Rodman’s parking lot. New for this year is the unveiling of the Tailgating Bus. We will be voting on the name of the bus at the tailgate Thursday night. The bus will be carrying people that will be attending the game as well as those that won’t (they will watch inside the bus). The bus will carry 11 plus the driver and I have 7 confirmed for Thursday.
The Rodman Lot is $50 to park. This money goes to charity (not Bob Kraft). Other benefits are that you get in the express lane going North and when exiting the Rodman lot you can go either North or South on Rte 1.

For Thursday Nights game vs the dreaded Jests, we will meet at 3:15 and leave by 3:30.
If you haven’t let me know you will be attending, please let me know as soon as possible!

I know there are people that can’t meet us … no problem, just park where directed in the Rodman lot and find us on the grass in front on Rte 1. Look for the bus and the Quad configuration of our white tents.

Caravan to Parking — Rt 95 S (Bear right at split with 93N) toward Providence. Take exit 9 (Route 1 south ). Immediately move to the right lane and look for the 1st restaurant on your right (Mick Morgan’s) DO NOT PARK THERE. Pull up to the light and take a right onto Old Post Road. Turn into the parking after the Liquor Store and before Brookline Movers. Back into angled parking spaces for ease of egress when we are leaving the lot. Be in the lot by 8:15. Caravan of cars will leave by 8:30.

Meeting at the Tailgate – Continue on Rt 1 S as you approach the stadium. Take right into the Rodman Ford Collision Center. Look for our setup near the Pedestrian Crosswalk. We will have the Red Razor’s Edge Tailgate banner, and the bus is unmistakeable. Call me if you need directions 978-866-3580.

AFC Division Championship Game Sunday 1/13 4:30 PM vs Texans
]]>Bring on the Playoff with what we hope will be another Three Games To Glory! The Houston Texans are already talking smack that they were embarrassed and owe the Patriots some payback. We as fans need to be loud at the game on Sunday and disregard the beatdown we gave Houston in the last meeting. For the final regular season game we jumped off from our meeting place at 10:15 and had to wait fifteen minutes until they opened the Rodman lot. We were first in the queue and opened the lot. I think we use the same meeting time of 10:00 and leave by 10:15. We were able to shovel off the grass and placed our canopies in the quad configuration. Remember parking is $50 at the Rodman lot

Caravan to Parking — Rt 95 S (Bear right at split with 93N) toward Providence. Take exit 9 (Route 1 south ). Immediately move to the right lane and look for the 1st restaurant on your right (Mick Morgan’s) DO NOT PARK THERE. Pull up to the light and take a right onto Old Post Road. Turn into the parking after the Liquor Stor…e and before Brookline Movers. Back into angled parking spaces for ease of egress when we are leaving the lot. Be in the lot by 10:00. Caravan of cars will leave by 10:15.

Meeting at the Tailgate – Continue on Rt 1 S as you approach the stadium. As Rt 1 takes a dip, at the traffic light, look for Rodman Collision Center is on the right (look for our red Razor’s Edge Tailgate sign). Take a right into their parking lot and park as directed. You can join us on the grass. We will have one or more canopies together. Our setup is right at the 1st pedestrian crosswalk on Rt 1 S (see Patriots parking Map).
Please let me know as soon as possible whether or not you will be attending!